New South Wales leads the pack: Where the states and territories’ economies rank

For the first time since July 2011, CommSec’s quarterly economic ranking of the states and territories has shown New South Wales lead the pack.

The ranking takes into account economic growth, retail spending, equipment investment, unemployment, construction work, population growth, housing finance and commencements.

Closely following New South Wales is Western Australia, which has fallen from top spot, and the Northern Territory.

Here’s the ranking:

1. New South Wales
   
   
2. Western Australia
   
   
3. Northern Territory
   
   
4. Victoria
   
   
5. Queensland
   
   
6. South Australia
   
   
7. ACT
   
   
8. Tasmania

New South Wales recorded top rankings for population growth and dwelling starts, while it scored second for retail trade, business investment and unemployment, third on housing finance and fourth on overall construction work and economic growth.

Western Australia, while still ranking strongly, lost on retail trade, equipment investment and population growth as the mining boom fades. Housing finance, however, was strongest in the state.

While the Northern Territory ranked third, it is the top on five of the indicators, but third on dwelling starts, and even further down the list for population growth and housing finance.

Victoria and Queensland ranked very closely.

In Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT trend housing finance commitments were recorded as above decade averages.

CommSec’s report notes that the simple reason for New South Wales being propelled to the top of the ranks is “housing”. It suggests the state is playing catch up after years of underbuilding, with demand exceeding supply and pushing the vacancy rate down to record lows. In Western Australia, housing was noted to be the crucial ingredient, along with construction, to sustain the economy.